India may have fallen to a 2-1 T20I series defeat against England, but vice-captain Smriti Mandhana believes the tour has provided valuable preparation ahead of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026, with the team determined to turn recent setbacks into opportunities for growth.
After opening the series with an impressive victory inspired by Jemimah Rodrigues and Nandini Sharma, India were unable to maintain their momentum as England bounced back with consecutive wins to claim the series. While the result was disappointing, the visitors leave England with a clearer understanding of the conditions they will encounter during the World Cup later this month.
For Mandhana, the biggest positive was the opportunity to spend time playing competitive cricket in English conditions before the tournament begins. “Coming in early, and playing a series in England, where we’ve a World Cup to play, in terms of preparations, it’s extremely good to do that,” Mandhana said after the final match in Taunton.
The series also highlighted an area India will be eager to improve. Mandhana and opening partner Shafali Verma managed just 75 runs between them across the three matches, with neither batter able to convert starts into substantial contributions. Despite that, Mandhana expressed confidence that the experienced opening pair can quickly rediscover their best form. “We both are timing the ball well but unfortunately are not able to contribute in big ways for the team,” she said. “But yeah, again for both of us, we’ll go back in the nets and keep working hard and make sure that we come back better as an opening pair.”
India’s batting unit other than Mandhana and Shafali showed encouraging signs throughout the series. Rodrigues continued her impressive run of form, Yastika Bhatia’s return to international cricket was a standout story, while captain Harmanpreet Kaur produced a timely reminder of her class in the deciding match. Walking in after early wickets had left India under pressure, Harmanpreet anchored the innings with an unbeaten 56 that guided the visitors to a competitive total of 180. Mandhana was quick to acknowledge the significance of the captain’s contribution.
“Harman (Harmanpreet) when she’s at her best, it’s a sight to watch. Really important innings under pressure, especially when we needed that sort of knock to get us to 180-plus.”
That total appeared defendable when India reduced England to 38/3 during the chase. However, a match-winning 137-run partnership between Heather Knight and Alice Capsey turned the contest decisively in the hosts’ favour. England eventually reached the target with six wickets in hand and nine deliveries to spare, exposing areas India will look to address before the World Cup.
Mandhana admitted the bowling group would revisit its plans following the defeat, particularly after seeing how quickly momentum can shift in the shortest format.“On bowling, we’ll go to the drawing board, and see which options are better. We did that before this series, maybe we can go back again. Now I think I know in these conditions what balls are to be bowled.”
Despite the loss, there remains a sense of optimism within the Indian camp. Several key batters have found rhythm heading into the tournament, while the England series offered valuable exposure against one of the strongest teams in the competition.
India’s World Cup campaign begins with a highly anticipated clash against Pakistan in Birmingham on June 14 before further Group 1 encounters against Australia, South Africa, Bangladesh and the Netherlands. India will hope the experience gained over the past fortnight proves crucial when the race for the trophy begins.
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